Infection Preventionist

ST JOHNS HEALTH • Jackson, WY

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The Infection Preventionist is responsible for the organization's efforts to prevent healthcare associated infections (HAIs). This includes: dissemination of information regarding relevant evidence based practice; development and review of related policies and procedures; education of facility staff; support of monitoring for compliance with policies and evidence based guidelines; oversight of compliance with CMS/DNV infection prevention requirements; surveillance of infectious diseases; reporting on federally mandated infection prevention measures consistent with CDC/NHSN requirements; communication to leaders regarding organization performance on surveillance findings and infection prevention goals; and facilitating and supporting corrective action to reduce occurrence/risk of healthcare associated infections. The responsibilities encompass compliance with applicable state and local standards/guidelines.

Requirements

• Required: Bachelor's degree in nursing, or master's in public health/certified medical laboratory science/Bachelors in related medical field with Certification in Infection Control (CIC)
• Required: Working knowledge of epidemiology, infectious diseases and aseptic techniques. Basic computer, research and statistical skills. Good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Current RN license with the authority to practice in the State of Wyoming OR
• Infection Prevention certification
• RNs without a CIC certification should obtain it within 2 years of hire.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred: 3+ years of Infection Prevention experience.

Responsibilities

• Oversight of Infection Prevention Program
• Coordinates the annual infection control risk assessments in conjunction with relevant service line leaders for the Hospital, Nursing Home, Home Health, Hospice, Inpatient Rehab, and new service lines as required.
• Develops infection prevention goals consistent with risk assessment and organization's purpose, values, and strategic plan.
• Reviews, revises, and collaborates on policies, procedures, and guidelines to align the organizations' clinical practice with efforts to reduce risk of healthcare associated infections.
• Supports implementation/change management efforts when policy, procedure, or guideline changes take place.
• Ensures ongoing compliance with infection prevention CMS/DNV requirements for the Hospital, Nursing Home, Home Health, Hospice, Inpatient Rehab, and new service lines as required.
• Conducts audits regarding the implementation and compliance with infection prevention best practices.
• Communicates infection prevention and control information and data to various committees and healthcare workers across the organization.
• Surveillance Monitoring, Data Collection and Reporting
• Conducts surveillance and investigations for nosocomial infections in identified populations (at a minimum to meet federal requirements).
• Submits required and selected optional data to NHSN/CDC.
• Maintains organized records of infection prevention data and HAI log to provide historical record of organization performance.
• Provides regular reports to committees regarding infections and infection prevention practices, including longitudinal performance data, statistical analysis, and comparison to industry benchmarks.
• Reports to Quality Director and relevant leaders emerging trends or concerns related to infection prevention.
• Conducts outbreak investigations and determines when an outbreak is occurring.
• Organization Point of Contact for Infection Prevention
• Provides advice for all staff members regarding the management of infectious patients/residents and other infection prevention issues.
• Interacts with physicians, nurses, department managers, supervisors, and other professional/non-professional staff members to identify opportunities to improve infection prevention practices and facilitates improvement efforts.
• Makes recommendations regarding construction and renovation projects and participate in ICRA activities and environmental rounds.
• Cooperates with the county and state department of health regarding infectious and communicable disease reporting.
• Provides guidance for areas experiencing or at risk of an infectious disease outbreak.
• Education and Spread of Knowledge
• Provides employee in-services and disseminates information on infection prevention and control.
• Acts as a resource for staff regarding infection control/isolation techniques.
• Provides ad hoc education support to address identified lapses in infection prevention practices and knowledge deficits.
• Develops an education strategy that supports ongoing, consistent use of evidence-based practices to reduce infections.
• Performance Improvement
• Utilize PI methodology as a means of enacting change
• Define the scope of projects and select appropriate PI tools to support efficiency, reliability, effectiveness, and ensure sustainability of the initiative.
• Ensure that patients’ and other key stakeholders’ needs and expectations are considered in the development of and continuous improvement of processes, products, and services.
• Monitor and analyze process and outcome measures to evaluate the effectiveness of and sustainability.
• Participate in PI committees, teams and initiatives as indicated.
• Employee Health
• Coordinate with Employee Health to develop/review employee health policies and procedures related to infection prevention.
• Evaluate and help reduce risk of occupational exposures to infectious diseases.
• Support immunization and screening programs.
• Coordinate with Employee Health to respond to occupational exposures.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees